Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DOD) increasingly relies upon contractors to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has resulted in a DOD workforce in those countries comprising approximately a comparable number of contractors (218,000) as uniformed personnel (195,000). Contractors make up 53% of DOD?s workforce in Iraq and Afghanistan. The critical role contractors play in supporting such military operations and the billions of dollars spent by DOD on these services requires operational forces to effectively manage contractors during contingency operations. Lack of sufficient contract management can delay or even prevent troops from receiving needed support and can also result in wasteful spending. Some analysts believe that poor contract management has also played a role in abuses and crimes committed by certain contractors against local nationals, which may have undermined U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 14, 2009
Accession Number
ADA512802

Entities

People

  • Moshe Schwartz

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army Procurement
  • Contractors
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Private Military Companies
  • Security Personnel
  • United States Central Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Strategic Security Studies